North Lawndale takes Holiday Classic

What was supposed to be the marquee game of the Chicago Public League Holiday Classic was never played after Foreman's semifinal upset of Marshall.

The youthful Hornets, who had a chance to knock off two reigning state champions in a day, got their first taste of what the big stage is all about but found out that being one of the elite teams may take some growing pains as North Lawndale triumphed 57-52 Sunday at DePaul's McGrath Arena. North Lawndale (11-2) claimed a 27-24 halftime lead behind 19 points and eight rebounds from forward Jermaine Winfield.

Winfield finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds and was named tournament MVP.

"I hadn't been playing well," Winfield said. "I used this game to redeem myself."

The second half was a see-saw battle with nine ties and no team leading by no more than three points.

The Hornets (8-4) took a 52-51 lead with 1:28 remaining on a jumper from the top of the key by Tommy Woolridge.

But two consecutive steals by North Lawndale led to four free throws, two by Winfield with 1:04 remaining to give the Phoenix a 53-52 lead and two from Illinois State-bound guard Terry Johnson that put them up 55-52 with 44.8 seconds remaining.

Jonathan Mills put the game out of reach as North Lawndale ran an out of bound streak play that Mills converted for a layup with five seconds remaining.

North Lawndale coach Lewis Thorpe said his team was not as explosive as they should have been when they came out.

"I was a little concerned because we played them three times over the summer and beat them soundly," Thorpe said. "We all watched the first half of their game against Marshall and left when Marshall was up by 15 points. The kids were anticipating that match up."

Johnson finished with 13 points and Mills had seven points and 12 rebounds.

Foreman coach Terry Head said this was a good lesson for his team.

"I guarantee you we will learn from this and get better," Head said. "When you play these types of games you have to understand what to do and when to do it. This was a great learning experience."

Woolridge led Foreman with 14 points and Lavonte Dority scored 11 points. Farragut knocked off Red-West rival Marshall 61-53 for third. The Commandos played without forward Eriq Harris, who injured his right ankle in the first half of the semifinals and didn't return.